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March 30, 2008

I know it's hard to believe but I have many UFOs in addition to the sizable stash. This is a baby quilt that I made specifically for longarm feather practice a while back. The binding was never completed. I've decided to finish a few of these "near done" projects. Since I was using white thread on the machine to finish the scrubs top I decided to get this one done.

I love this little quilt. It's 36 x 44. I designed it to use 6" charm squares. I used to collect the 6" squares and I have 2 bins of them. It only used 24 squares but it's still cute! The feathers in the sashing and border were my first feathers on a quilt. The pieced strips were quilted with a cross-hatch pattern. You can see that better on the back - a yummy soft flannel. I'm not sure what I will do with this quilt but I have a few more in a similar pattern that need to be finished. maybe I will donate the lot of them to Project Linus or something. I'm open for ideas!

This one WILL count in stash used, once I figure out how much fabric is in it.

Prepare a set of fabric printer sheets (so I can print QOV labels for the 3 quilts) I got the fabric treated but I haven't cut it and fused it to the freezer paper sheets yet. It turned out that I had enough sheets ready to do the QOV labels. I'll get the freezer paper sheets done tonight.

Make the matching pillowcases for the 3 QOV quiltsand the quilts are in the mail to Walter Reed

Organize the taxes - uh, no. I had a lot of excuses on this one but it has to be the FIRST thing I do tomorrow morning before any fun commences.

Last night I felt like I had been doing nothing but working. Most of the things on my list were "finishing tasks". I needed a treat! Sue B has been doing a lot of painting on brown paper so I decided to give it a try last night. It's so nice to have a dyeing and painting area set up permanently. I was able to spend some time playing. In about an hour I had these done and all of the mess cleaned up. That clean up part is going to get even easier in a week. The plumber is going to install a double utility sink in the basement in my dye area! The basement is below the septic so it will have a pump but it's going to be great and should save my kitchen from the inevitable big paint or dye spill.

I have a specific plan for these papers but I will share that on another day.

This weekend is basically a continuation of the remaining tasks from last week.

March 24, 2008

The theme for the current MQResource swap is "birthstone". This one was difficult for me to design and I can't blame anyone but myself - it was my idea! I always seem to struggle with my own themes.

My birthstone is Sapphire. I knew that I wanted to use some blue sapphire silk that Kim gave me and I knew that I wanted to experiment with some bobbin embroidery. I had also purchased a lot of blue and crystal hit fix crystals at the quilt show in February. Those were the ingredients. Off I went to the Internet and my books to find some clip art to use for my image and that's where I got stuck. I finally narrowed the theme to using a bird image. Since Chris and I both have our birthday in September I decided on 2 birds. Another search of Microsoft Clip Art and here's what I found. It's really not my style - way to sappy! But it worked and I learned a lot about bobbin embroider along the way! The thread is Superior Razzle Dazzle.

I did have fun with Chris though when I showed him the card and told him it represented us. That was certainly worth the laugh!

March 21, 2008

Last night I finished the quilting, this morning I put the binding on and all three QOV (Quilt of Valor) quilts have now been washed. All that's left to do is sew on the labels. That's a project for American Idol next week! You can see the other two QOV quilts here and here.

This pattern is based on several Chinese Coin quilts designed by Mary for the Heartstrings Project. My pattern is here. Mary's patterns are here. The finished quilt is 64" x 78".

In the close up on the right you can see the quilting. I used the Ebb & Flow pantograph with Superior King Tut thread on top and Superior So Fine in the bobbin. You might remember that I was worried that the orange thread was too bright. You said it was OK and you were right. I love the end result. I like this quilt so much that I think I am going to start another - from stash fabric of course!

I even finished the pillowcases for all three QOV quilts!

I used Warm & Natural batting in all three QOV quilts. I know that lot of people think that W&N is too stiff. I often prewash my W&N batting and that softens it up considerably. All three quilts are very soft and snuggly after being washed.

March 16, 2008

Here is the second QOV quilt top that Wanda made. Isn't it perfect for a QOV? I quilted it with the Ebb and Flow panto using Superior So Fine! thread. This fabric in the quilt, front and back, is super soft flannel. Here's a close up of one of the blocks.